Wednesday, 8 August 2012

Review| Holy Konni- lgpt_princess

It’s no
secret I’ve worked with Holy Konni a multitude of times in the past. As a
result, it might be rather difficult to convince anyone reading this that the
impending torrent of hyperbole and descriptive rimming is an unbiased portrayal
of what lies within ‘lgpt_princess’. However, one listen to this release and it’ll
become clear that whether I’d even heard
of Konni before is a total irrelevancy to how good this release is.

The first two
words that comes to mind when spinning this disc are summer and swag. Both opening
numbers lurch forwards with graceful groove and optimistic atmosphere, cradling
body-morphing basslines and a plethora of background tweaks to ensure multiple
listens are a viable and profitable undertaking.

The third
opus opens with a slightly unsettling cascade of samples; wailing voices and
demented horn-like sirens, which in turn give backbone to the liquid candy
melody which sneaks up out of nowhere, followed a few minutes later by a
wavering bridge section of an industrial tinged synth before double-taking to
the previous slow groove. The sample madness doesn’t stop there (the title has ‘lgpt’
in it so it’s not unexpected) with ‘Slushie House’, a momentary relapse from the wide-eyed-grin
of previous tracks and instead a delve into middle eastern melodies and drum
beats that always seem on the verge of teetering out of control into a
breakbeat frenzy. The tension and structure of this track surpass anything else
on this release, forming an unforgettable motif and unique groove that is difficult
to pigeonhole into any particular style or genre.

‘Happy End’
does as its name suggest, sounding like a forgotten track from Peer’s release ‘Dances’,
cradling an ever-changing and seemingly undecided (though clearly a creative decision
for intended impact) melody with soft chords overlapping in the background. Whilst
without the obvious groove of previous tracks, the track still holds its own as
is difficult to shake from you brain.

In the idea
of fairness, there are a few gripes. The penultimate track ‘Dat White Boi’
sounds unrealised and slightly misplaced, ‘Happy End’ could and should have
been more explosive (Konni has shown many times he can do epic as well as ‘Emperor’)
and the overall track ordering could have been tweaked slightly for a larger
reaction and better flowing dynamics.

That being
said, it’s all really pointless when you listen to the album as whole. Whilst
the album may not be perfect, the way Konni has tackled his chosen style IS perfect, he truly has mastered what
he set out to do, which only makes me more excited for the future. Full of unforgettable
tunes and an awe-striking level of groove, if you were waiting for a summer
album to see you through the sunny daze, it has just arrived.

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Owned and written by Andrew Kilpatrick, with Alex Kelly around to help run it and Stephan Tul proofing, TWG was set up in March of 2012 and launched in July. The Waveform Generator brings the crème de le crème of chiptune influenced music to the world. This blog is where it all goes down, so check back frequently for more news as well as reviews, interviews, haikus and some sweet previews.